Melanie Marquez defends Janina
By Armin Adina
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:08:00 03/12/2008
Filed Under: Celebrities, Entertainment (general)
MANILA, Philippines—Former Miss International Melanie Marquez has come to the defense of new Bb. Pilipinas-World Janina San Miguel, who’s being criticized for speaking less-than-perfect English on pageant night Saturday.
“She blacked out; that doesn’t make her bobo,” Marquez told Inquirer .
In the question and answer round, judge Vivienne Tan asked what role San Miguel’s family had played in her participation.
The nervous candidate flubbed her response and was heckled. She asked the audience at the Araneta Coliseum to excuse her blunder. “This is my first pageant,” she said, “[and] I’m only 17.”
A video clip of that exchange has been uploaded on YouTube.
“The humility she showed is one trait of a beauty queen,” Marquez said. She encouraged beauty title aspirants to speak in Filipino if they are not comfortable with English. “We’re in the Philippines; we’re entitled to speak in our native language. Let the foreign judges find ways to understand us.”
Marquez herself has experienced being lampooned for flawed English. Her advice to Janina’s critics: “Before you criticize anyone, you should first give honor to our country.”
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